How To Survive A Calamity

"They still look decent enough to follow, that means the owners may actually be nearby." Don inputted with excitement. The idea that we were possibly close to our targets was enough to make the situation seem more urgent.

Meanwhile, i stared at the footprints and scratched the back of my head with a complicated expression.

"How long did it take for us to get here, again...?"

"Vic, did you say something?" Chelsea said.

"...No, don't mind me. Nevermind." I replied and looked back at the others.

Shrugging my shoulders dryly, i gave an empty smile and gestured forward at the path ahead.

The foot prints were all over the place, but they still led towards an obvious direction.

And on the other side, at the end of the trail...

"Well, shall we, everyone?"

Our targets were waiting patiently for us.

We followed the erratic, disorderly path of the foot prints and soon arrived at the final scene on the other side, until finally...

We saw something.

Uh...

I glanced at the sight dryly and scratched my head with a deep sigh.

What was i supposed to say right now?

What was presented before us.

On one hand...

"I guess we did find the other group..."

And on the other hand...

"They were wiped out!" Don's and the others eyes widened in shock and suprise.

The scene of a battle was spread before us in the form of a wide crater that was embedded and carved into the sandy dessert.

We stood over the edges of the dunes now forming a kind of barrow that descended inward as a crater and stared at what was inside pensively.

We could see the battered and wounded bodies of other cadets like us scattered and sprawled on the dark red sand covered in blood.

There were signs of a battle featured around the place, from dark scorch marks, to broken and shattered weapons scattered all over.

Under the dark red sky, such a sight painted...quite a disturbing scene.

...one that made my eyes narrow closely.

"Hey, those guys look seriously hurt-!!"

"Now, just hold on a minute."

Don was just about to leap into the crater, but i stopped him before he could do anything unnecessary.

He snapped to the side and shot me glare.

"What..."

I looked at Deandra instead and raised my hand. Your adventure continues at empire

"We're running a democracy, right? I say we shouldn't jump to conclusions." Saying so, i proceed to take a sit against the ground, my legs dangling off the edge of the barrow in a leisure manner.

I could feel the others giving me varying levels of different looks but pretended not to notice and glanced at the total wipe out scene before me.

'Woah, whatever happend here, these guys were mopped the floor with."

Trise held her glabella and groaned this time.

"What is this bastard talking about this time? Who was the one who proposed the idea of hunting the other groups, again?"

"Watch your step," i side glanced at her and said, "it'll be hard to get out once you carelessly fall in."

Trise gave me an odd look as if staring at a mad person who was speaking incomprehensibly.

But i let my words briefly end there, until Deandra said in a low voice. Her gaze deeply scrutinizing the crater and area of battle.

"You think... something might be wrong," she said, narrowed her eyes, and added, "a trap?"

I cast my gaze back at the crater carved into the sand dunes. Inside of it, there were five bodies seemingly laying lifelessly against the blood ground.

"There's every possibility it is. We'd be carelessly walking into a possible trap like this. In the first place, there are a few things that are obviously wrong about this whole situation if you look closely enough."

"What are you talking about?" Don replied irritably and Chelsea looked over the edge with unease.

I ignored the venom in his tone and continued in my usual manner.

"For instance, what do you think is wrong with those people?" I raised my hand and pointed at the group in the crater.

"They're injured and passed out...? Chelsea was the one who replied with uncertainty.

I nodded subtly.

"And you don't see anything wrong in that?"

"Is there supposed to be...?"

Usually, no, not really.

Chelsea didn't seem to be following up with where i was going. Then i glanced down at the edge of the crater where i was currently sitting on top of.

"In other words, to find out we'd have to see for ourselves right, what is truly wrong with them. If this really was a trap, don't you think it would be a bad idea if we went down in there from here and are suddenly ambushed from above. Even the whole location is just too convenient for a set up. The party with the higer elevation and ground in this case holds the most advantage. If a mage decided to use a massive explosion spell against us while we are stuck down inside this, what do you think are our chances of survival in one piece."

"That's..." Before Chelsea could continue, i shook my head to myself then said, contemplatively.

"But no, that would be too much for nothing. Well, considering that our bracelets would immediately activate after detecting any direct threats to our lives, we'd more or less still be physically fine. But we'd also be forcefully pulled out of the exercise and automatically forfeit, while the ambushing party would receive the extra points for taking us out. That would be a waste then."

"A waste?"

I nodded in affirmation and said.

"If it were me, i wouldn't just waste such a setting only to wipe out a different group just for the extra points. In the first place, we've only come this far for one main reason. So an instantaneous obliterating one shot attack may be out of the picture early in such a scenario..."

"Ehh, Vic, what are you going on about?"

"He's saying that, if this were a trap, then our ambushers would be laying in wait nearby for us to descend into the crater for the same reason we're here..." Trise said, and her voice slowly trailed off.

And just, then, Deandra, standing by my side, gazed at me strangely and added.

"To steal our water."